Greater Minnesota Cities Demand Attention

Newly drawn legislative districts that reflect population movements within Minnesota give more power to suburbs in next year’s Legislature, but mayors from outside the Twin Cities area pledge to keep their communities’ needs at the top of lawmakers’ priority lists.

“Property tax increases are crippling our homeowners, businesses and farms, and greater Minnesota is being hit twice as hard as the metro area,” said Worthington Mayor Alan Oberloh, who just left as coalition president.

The mayor was tough on the Republican-controlled Legislature: “Citizens in greater Minnesota have had it with the Legislature focused on constitutional amendments and whatever happens to be the talk radio issue of the day.”

The new coalition president said the group also will push for economic development initiatives, such as training programs and tax credits for investing in greater Minnesota businesses.

“These programs are working in our neighboring states, and they will work here,” Cloquet Mayor Bruce Ahlgren said.

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ABOUT

Don Davis

Davis has covered Minnesota politics and government for Forum Communications Company/Forum News Service since 2001. He is an Iowa native who was a reporter and editor at newspapers there, leaving the state to edit newspapers in Illinois, Oklahoma and Wyoming before becoming a full-time political reporter in North Dakota. Now, newspapers across Minnesota print his stories.